SENATE BILL REPORT

EHB 1322

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Title: An act relating to reducing training requirements for developmental disability respite providers working three hundred hours or less in any calendar year.

Sponsors: Representatives Kilduff, Harris, Kagi, Senn, Cody, Short, McDonald, Caldier, Dent, Tharinger, Dye, Robinson, Lovick, Appleton, Goodman, Fey, Hudgins, Sawyer, Muri, Jinkins, McBride and Doglio.

Brief Summary of Bill

Reduces training requirements for individual providers who provide respite services for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Background: Individual providers are people who have contracted with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to provide personal care or respite care services to functionally disabled persons. Individual providers who provide respite services and work less than 300 hours in a calendar year must complete 35 hours of training within 120 days after becoming an individual provider. Five hours of training must be completed before the individual provider may provide care; two of these hours must be devoted to an orientation training regarding the role of caregiver and three of these hours must be on safety training.

The training partnership develops training programs for long-term care workers, including individual providers.

Summary of Bill: Individual providers who provide respite care services for individuals with developmental disabilities and who work 300 hours or less in a calendar year must complete 14 hours of training within 120 days of becoming an individual provider. Five hours of training must be completed before providing care; this includes two hours of orientation training and 3 hours of safety training. The training partnership must offer at least 12 hours of training online and individual providers must be able to select elective course for at least five online courses.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: Parents need help and parents need access to respite care. It is a struggle for parents to get respite care even if they are approved for respite hours. Respite providers do not do this as their main job and it is hard for them to take off time from work to take the required training. On-line training makes the training more accessible. There is a barrier to accessing respite providers who do not want to be professionals but are doing this to help out family or friends. They are trapped by complicated training requirements. We have no objection to expand this to all groups who need access to respite providers. Families need the help provided by this bill. This is also an issue with long-term care workers and the bill needs to expand to address this and to allow savings booked by this expansion to take effect in the budget bill. We need to look at ways to allow the Senate companion to move forward to allow for the broader group of people to be addressed.

Persons Testifying: PRO: Diana Stadden, The Arc of WA State; Loren Freeman, Freeman & Associates; Pam Hansen, SEIU775/Parent Provider; Sylvia Liang, SEIU775/Parent Provider; Demas Nesterenko, SEIU775; Donna Patrick, Developmental Disabilities Council; Kate White Tudor, Washington Association of Area Agencies on Aging.